Venturing through Madison, there may be a couple of notable cigar stores, and a head shop or two with respectable humidors, but the reality is that good stogies are scarce, and reasonable prices can be even tougher to come by.

Fortunately, however, a phenomenally rich selection of cigars at cut-rate prices are just a mouse’s click away on the Internet. Specifically, two websites, Thompson Cigar (www.thompsoncigar.com) and J. R. Cigars (www.jrcigars.com), should be mandatory online bookmarks for all those interested in fine tobacco — from a “rookie” in search of his or her first puff to a “seasoned veteran” seeking the most complex, intricate of smokes.

Both sites sell cigars almost exclusively by the box, so don’t sign on in search of a single stick. And Thompson is slightly more expensive than J. R. when you compare many of the same products. But unlike J. R., Thompson specializes in deals that are perfect for young smokers still trying to acquire a formidable palate and respectable paraphernalia at a decent price.

Of particular note is one of Thompson’s signature deals where, for $39.95, one can purchase a Spanish cedar humidor filled with 25 cigars and a carrying tube for individual smokes. Now the cigars included are Thompson’s house brand and, in the interest of full disclosure, this writer has never puffed on any such stick, but it is still a brand with decades to its name.

J. R. Cigars’ house brand, however, is a force with which to be reckoned. These sticks are incredibly diverse, with varying sizes, strengths and, of course, prices. Yet there seems to be a certain stigma in the stuffy cigar-puffing world that no tobacco of value could possibly come from a maker that does much of its business online. And that is precisely where the cigar elitists have it all wrong. J. R. makes some of the finest stogies out there and certainly provides the best puff for your buck.

Of particular delight is their “Cuban Alternative” line, a series of cigars all modeled after some of Havana’s most popular (and still embargoed) hand-rolled beauties. The “Cohiba Tainos” might be the best deal around — for $19.95 the site sells a box of 20 of these tasty delights, all almost as good as Cohiba’s actual “brand-name” stick, which would sell for 10 times as much.

J. R. also comes up strong by always offering a handful of “deals” on brand-name cigars. At any given time, their website will have up to 20 phenomenal offers, not including a weekly special (also sent to all members of their e-mail listserv) that almost always offers a stellar big-name cigar at a very reasonable price. But J. R.’s finest sale is “1 O’Clock Madness,” an offer made every week on Saturday morning (Friday night) from 1 a.m. ? 2 a.m. Eastern time (midnight to 1 a.m. out here in Wisconsin) that always and without fail reduces some of the cigar world’s finest smokes to prices nearly at the Philly Blunt level. Most UW students are up at this hour, so there is really no decent excuse to not sign online and give the deal a gander.

The reality, though, is that those of you just acclimating yourselves to the world of cigars will probably do best sampling one stick at a time until you settle on one that you truly enjoy. So there is still some reason in visiting Madison’s cigar stores (no matter how scarce they may be) for the privilege of walking out with a “sampler bag,” or even just one particularly interesting-looking stick. But once you develop a real feel for judging cigars by their band, be sure to sign online and give Thompson Cigar or J. R. Cigars a visit — you’ll save a fortune and never find yourself schlepping through a head shop’s baron humidor again.